Cochlear implants may provide a person having sensorineural hearing loss with the ability to perceive sound by stimulating the person's auditory nerve via an array (or other configuration) of electrodes implanted in the person's cochlea. Typically, the cochlear implant functions to detect sound waves, convert the sound waves into a series of electrical stimulation signals, and deliver the stimulation signals to the cochlear implant recipient's auditory nerve via the array of electrodes. Stimulating the auditory nerve in this manner may enable the cochlear implant recipient's brain to perceive a hearing sensation that is similar to the natural hearing sensation delivered to a properly functioning auditory nerve.
Cochlear implant systems typically consist of two key components, namely an external component, such as a BTE (behind the ear) component, and an internal component. The external and internal components operate together to deliver the hearing sensation to the cochlear implant recipient.
The internal component of a cochlear implant system typically includes one or more leads configured to connect the internal component of the cochlear implant to various modules including, for example, an electrode array, a reference electrode, connectors, batteries, and systems, such as, for example, a Direct Acoustic Cochlear Stimulation (DACS) system. Further, some cochlear implant systems are designed to be fully-implantable cochlear implant systems in which one or both of a microphone and a speech processor are implanted in the cochlear implant recipient along with the internal component. Accordingly, upgradeable and fully-implantable cochlear implant systems may include one or more leads configured to connect the internal component of the cochlear implant system to a microphone, a speech processor, and/or other modules.
In some cases, there may be a need to access one or more leads on an internal component after the internal component has been implanted in the cochlear implant recipient. For example, a battery connected to a lead of the internal component may need to be replaced. As another example, in an upgradeable cochlear implant system, a microphone or speech processor may need to be implanted and connected to one or more leads in order to upgrade the cochlear implant system to a fully-implantable cochlear implant system. Other examples are possible as well. In order to access the leads, one or more surgical procedures may be performed.
During such surgical procedures, the leads of the internal component may be at risk. In particular, surgical instruments (e.g., scalpels, burrs, or forceps) used during the surgical process may nick, slice, or otherwise damage the lead.